Welles, Charles R.

Born: 1812-08-26 Wethersfield, Connecticut

Died: 1854-07-23 Springfield, Illinois

Flourished: Springfield, Illinois

Welles graduated from Yale College in 1834, moved to Springfield, Illinois, and became a respected member of the Sangamon County bar. He spent most of his professional life as a real estate developer. Welles formed a legal partnership with Silas W. Robbins and served as master in chancery of the United States Circuit Court for the District of Illinois in Springfield. In 1850, Welles was working as an attorney, and owned $5,500 worth of real property. He was a member of the Second Presbyterian Church of Springfield. By the time of his death, Welles had accumulated more than 5,000 acres of real estate throughout central Illinois. He died of cholera.

Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 16 October 1840, 3:4; 25 January 1844, 3:2; Illinois Daily Journal (Springfield), 24 July 1854, 3:2; Obituary, 4 August 1854, 2:4; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Springfield, Sangamon County, IL, 102; John M. Palmer, ed., The Bench and Bar of Illinois: Historical and Reminiscent (Chicago: Lewis, 1899), 1:174; To see tracts of land, search "Welles Charles R," Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; Gravestone, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, IL.